Lathe



Dec. 28, 1943. w. K MILLHOLLAND' Y v.2,337,761

LATHE Filed Aug. 4, 1941 2- Shee'bs-Sheet 1 i INVENTOR. MLA/AM /fM/Lf/ozz/l/VD,

BY /MCV Dec. 28, 1943; w. K. MILLHOLLAND LATHE Filed Aug. 4, 1941 2Sheets-Sheet 2 7 W KWJMW mw Lf .Efwww Patented Dec. 28, 1943 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

In the operation of lathes of many types, copious quantities oflubricating liquid are constantly flowed over the cutting tool and it istherefore necessary to provide a liquid-tight basin or pan in positionto receive the off-flowing liquid and accompanying metal chips and toseparate the liquid from the chips for recirculation.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, these pans, whether of an integralcasting or a welded sheet metal, have been of such form that they wereinterposed between the base casting and the super-structures of thelathe and consequently it has been necessary to accurately machine theinterposed portions of the pan.

A pan formed from an integral casting is commercially impracticalbecause of its. unavoidable weight and because of fabrication lossesbeginning with a readily recognizable defective casting and ending withcastings which break during processing and both in the cases of integralcastings and Welded sheet metal structures, the diniculties oi firmlysecuring the super-structures upon the interposed pan portions result indefective operation of the lathe.

Operating conditions are such that it is necessary at times to removethe pan from the main body of the lathe and where the pan has portionswhich are interposed between the bed and super-structures of the lathe,diiiiculties are experienced in reassembly of the super-structures uponthe bed with that degree of accuracy which is essential for properoperation of the machine.

The object of my present invention is to provide a lathe structure witha relatively light sheet metal pan for the reception of the lubricatingfluid and accompanying work chips of such character that it may be madeof material considerably lighter than has heretofore been consideredpermissible and so associated with the bed as to be removable whilestill permitting ready reassembly of the super-structures upon the bedwith the initial degree of accuracy.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lathe in which my invention has beenembodied;

Fig. 2 a diagrammatic side elevation; and

Fig. 3 a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings I indicates the usual bed of a lathe provided withpedestals 2 and 3, the upper faces of which are accurately machined forthe reception of the necessary super-structures, i. e., the head stockI3 and tail stock I4.

The pan I5 is a relatively shallow sheet metal structure which is liquidtight and which is provided, at an appropriate point, with a sump I6having an intermediate screen I'I to catch the work chips and provide asupplemental sump I8 for the reception of the clear lubricating liquidfor return flow.

The bottom of this pan in its shallower portions, at appropriate pointsis formed with upstanding portions 20 and 2l adapted to envelop thesides of the bed pedestals which are provided for the reception of thehead stock and tail stock.

These upstanding portions 2i! and 2| are formed at their upper ends toprovide inwardlyextending perimetral flanges, such as shown at 22 inFig. 3, adapted to rest upon the uppermost surfaces of said pedestals tosupport said pan. Preferably said flanges will be secured in place bymachine screws 23 or the like.

The head stock I3 and the tail stock I4 are formed with downwardlyprojecting platforms 24 and 25, respectively; the perimetral dimensionsof which are slightly less than the internal perimetral dimensions ofthe flanges formed at the tops of the portions 2i) and 2I, so that thoseplatforms t within said flanges and rest upon the accurately machinedsurfaces 0f the pedestals. The lowermost surfaces of the platforms onthe head stock and tail stock are accurately machined to cooperate withsaid machined surfaces of the pedestals.

As neither the head stock nor the tail stock rests directly upon anyportion of the pan, no machining of horizontal faces of any portion ofthe pan is necessary and therefore the pan may be made of relativelylight material and, because the head stock and tail stock restimmediately upon the pedestals of the bed, they may be readily removedand accurately replaced Whenever it becomes necessary to separate thepan from the lathe structure.

I claim as my invention:

1. A machine tool comprising, a base having an upwardly-presentedaccurately-machined surface surrounded by an upwardly-presented area, asuperstructure having a downwardly-presented, accurately-machinedsurface mating with, and rigidly seated on, said upwardly-presented,accurately-machined surface and surrounded by a downwardly-presentedarea, the said two surrounding areas being vertically spaced from eachother, and a pan having a bottom apertured to encompass saidaccurately-machined mating areas with portions of the pan bottomimmediately bounding the aperture of less thickness than the spacingbetween said bounding areas and resting upon said upwardly-presentedbounding area.

2. Apparatus of the character specified in claim 1, wherein theapertured portion of the pan bottom is raised above the general level ofthe pan bottom and connected to said general level by a sleeve whichsleeves downwardly over that portion of the base which carries theupwardlypresented accurately machined surface.

WILLIAM K. MILLHOLLAND.

